Combined knife and sharpener



Feb. l, 1955 D. E. MASON COMBINED KNIFE AND SHARPENER Filed Dec. 15, 1952 da l5 INVENTOR iso/ ATTORNEY United States Patent O COMBINED KNIFE AND SHARPENER Donald E. Mason, Greensboro, N. C.

Application December 15, 1952, Serial No. 325,983

4 Claims. (Cl. 30-138) This invention relates to knife Sharpeners, and more particularly to knife Sharpeners of the general class comprising a sharpening block more or less permanently associated with a knife blade and adapted to be normally maintained in out-of-the-way position adjacent one' end of the knife handle but which can be releasedfor reciprocating movement back-and-forth along the knife blade for sharpening the edge of the blade when the blade becomes dull.

An important object of the invention is to provide a knife Sharpener of the above character in which the elements carried by the sharpening block may be easily and conveniently removed from the block when they b ecome worn and replaced with new one without necessitating the dismounting of the block from the knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined knife and Sharpener of the above character including means for limiting the travel of the sharpening block along the blade so that the block while being reciprocated during a knife-sharpening operation will not be inadvertently shifted off the end of the blade.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combined knife and Sharpener in which the sharpening block in its idle or inoperative position abuts and forms an uninterrupted continuation of the handle so as not to interfere with the safe and proper grasp of the handle or to reduce the effective cutting length of the blade.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a combined knife and sharpener;

Figure 2 is a view taken at right-angles to Figure l showing the upper or non-cutting edge of the knife blade;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the knife and sharpening 'blade taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a detailed view similar t-o Figure 2 of the sharpening block and handle with parts broken away;

Figure 5 is a transverse cross-sectional View through the handle of the knife taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is an exploded view of the sharpening block showing the abrasive stones and the spring for maintaining the stones in assembly with the sharpening block.

The combined knife and Sharpener shown in Figure 1 comprises a blade B and a handle H secured to one end of the blade. The cutting edge 1 and the opposite rear edge 2 of the blade extend generally parallel to each other except at the terminal end 3 of the blade which may be shaped in any conventional manner depending upon the purpose for which the knife is intended.

A sharpening block 4 comprises a sleeve section 4a which at one end abuts the handle H, and this sleeve has a perimetral contour corresponding to that of the handle so as to form in effect an uninterrupted continuation of the handle. The opposite end of the sleeve 4a is provided with a lug or enlargement 4b projecting a short d-istance outwardly from the lower side of the sleeve. The block 4 is provided with a longitudinal sl-ot 5 which slidingly receives the knife blade B, and the enlargement 4b .is transversely recessed to provide a rectangular-shaped passageway 6 which intersects the knife-edge encompass-ing pa-rt of the slot 5.

A pair of companion abrasive stones 7 snugly occupy the passageway 6 upon opposite sides of the knife blade, and these stones are resiliently pressed into engagement 2,700,819 -Patented Feb. l, 1955 ICC with the cutting edge 1 of the blade by means of a U- shaped steel spring 8. The spring 8 straddles and seats upon the knife block 4 and the legs of the spring are inturned at their ends to form fingers 8a that project within opposite ends of the passageway 6. The fingers 8a of spring 8 engage grooves 9 in the outer faces of the abrasive stones 7 and hold the stones against wobbling and also urge them into Contact with the knife blade B at opposite sides of its cutting edge. To prevent displacement of the spring 8 along the block, the latter is formed with a p air of parallel ribs 4c engaging opposite sides of the spring.

As best shown in Figure 6, the abrasive stones 7 are each generally L-shape in transverse cross-section and the two stones are assembled in reverse relation. The knife-edge engaging face 7a of each stone is slightly beveled so that the companion faces 7a of the two stones contact opposite sides of the blade at offset points therealong so as to sharpen the cutting edge when the sharpening block is moved back-and-forth along the blade.

The sharpening block is normally latched in abutment ywith the end of the handle by means of a leaf spring 10 secured at one end to the side of the handle H and freely extending within an opening 11 formed in the abutting end of the block. The outer end of the spring is provided with an upturned lip 10a which norm-ally engages a recessed shoulder 11a within the opening 11. The spring 10 is provided with a button 12 for manually depressing the spring to release the lip 10a from the shoulder to free the sharpening block from the handle.

Near its outer end upon its non-cutting edge, the blade B is provided with a wedge-shaped notch 13. Upon the Iinside of the sharpening block 4 and lying along the upper end of longitudinal slot 5 there is a spring clip 14 having one of its ends in light-pressure conta-ct with the non-eutting edge of the knife blade and its opposite end offset and anchored within a hole 15 in the sharpening block. The spring clip 14 holds the abrasive st-ones in contact with the cutting edge of the blade and also serves to engage the upright end wall of the notch 13 in the outermost position of travel of the cutting block, as indicated in phantom lines in Figure 1.

The operation of the combined knife and Sharpener is as follows: The sharpening block 4 iis normally held by the spring latch 10 against the end of the handle H with the sleeve 4a of the block 'forming a part of the grip of the handle with substantially the entire cutting edge of the blade exposed. When the cutting `edge of the knife blade becomes dull, the button 12 is depressed with the ngers to unlatch the sharpening 'block from the handle. Thereupon the sharpening block may be manually slid `backand-forth a few times to cause the abrasive :stones 7 to sharpen the cutting edge of the blade. During this bladesharpening operation, the spring yclip 14 on the sharpening block serves as `a detent vfor engaging the notch 13 on the blade -to limit the outward travel of the block, which is desirable to keep the block from sliding off the end of the knife blade with possible injury to the user. After the knife has been sharpened, the sharpening block is returned to and latched in its original out-of-the-way position against the handle by re-engaging the latch 10 -with the shoulder 11a.

Eventually, th-e beveled faces 7a of the abrasive stones 7 become worn so as not to present a true V-edge to the Iblade. To renew the abrasive stones, the legs of the U- shaped spring 8 which straddle the sharpening block are spread apart to release the lingers 8a from the grooves 9 on the abrasive stones 7 and from the ends of the passageway 6 in the block, and the spring yis withdrawn from the block. The worn stones 7 are slid out of the passageway 6 and new stones re-inserted. Then the spring 8 is r-eplaced on the block and the fingers 8a snap into the grooves 9 of the new abrasive stones to resiliently hold the beveled faces of the stones against the cutting edge of the blade.

While the combined knife and Sharpener above-described represent a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes iii construction, arrangement and design may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention as dened by the `following claims.

I claim:

1. In a combined knife and Sharpener, the combination with a knife blade provided with a cutting edge and having a handle at one end, of a sharpening block encircling and supported for reciprocating movement upon the blade, said block having a longitudinal slot slidably receiving the blade, a passageway through the block transversely of and intersecting the slot, a pair of abrasive stones positioned within said passageway having opposed beveled inner faces, a detachable U-shaped spring straddling the block and having its ends engaging the outer faces of the stones and urging them into contact with opposite sides of the cutting edge of the blade and a releasable latch upon thc handle engaging an abutment upon the block for maintaining the block in abutting position against the handle.

2. In a combined knife and Sharpener, the combination with a knife blade provided with generally parallel cutting and non-cutting edges and having a handle at one end, of a sharpening block encircling and supported for reciprocating movement upon the blade, said block having a longitudinal slot slidingly receiving the blade, a passageway through the block disposed transversely of and intersecting the slot, a pair of abrasive stones positioned within said passage having opposed beveled inner faces, a detachable U-shaped spring straddling the block and having its ends engaging the outer faces of the stones and urging them into contact with opposite sides of the cutting edge of the blade, means for maintaining the block in abutting position against an end of the handle but releasable to allow the reciprocation of the block upon the blade during a knife-sharpening operation, an abutment upon the blade and a detent upon the block arranged to strike and be arrested by said abutment for limiting the outward travel of the block along the blade.

3. In a combined knife and Sharpener, the combination with a knife blade provided with generally parallel cutting and non-cutting edges and having a handle at one end, of a sharpening block mounted for reciprocating movement along the blade, said block having a longitudinal slot slidingly receiving the blade, an enlargement upon the block recessed to provide a passageway therethrough disposed transversely of and intersecting the slot, a pair of abrasive stones positioned within the passageway having opposed longitudinally-offset beveled inner faces, a detachable U-shaped spring straddling the block and having its ends engaging the outer faces of the stones and urging them into contact with opposite sides of the cutting edge of the blade, a spring latch for maintaining the block in abutting position against an end of the handle but releasable to allow the reciprocation of the block upon the blade during a knife-sharpening operation, a notch upon the non-cutting edge of the blade and a spring clip upon the block resilently bearing upon the non-cutting edge of the blade and engageable with the notch for limiting the outward travel of the block along the blade.

4. In a combined knife and Sharpener, the combination with a knife blade provided with a cutting edge and having a handle at one end, of a sharpening block mounted for reciprocating movement along the blade, said block having a longitudinal slot slidingly receiving the blade, a passageway through the block disposed transversely of and intersecting the slot, a pair of abrasive stones positioned within said passageway having opposed beveled inner faces, a detachable U-shaped spring straddling the block and having inturned ends engaging grooves in the outer faces of the stones and urging them into contact with opposite sides of the cutting edge of the blade and releasable means for maintaining the block in abutting position against an end of the handle, said sharpening block for the major portion of its length having an external contour corresponding to that of the handle so as to constitute an uninterrupted portion of the handle grip when in abutting position against an end of the handle.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,477,488 Holland Dec. 11, 1923 1,507,043 Blow Sept. 2, 1924 2,291,128 Yarrow July 28, 1942 2,337,158 Frank Dec. 21, 1943 

